My vacation: boosting the economy

I'm just back from 11 days off. Thanks to those of you who wrote asking about the blog. Things were pretty hectic the week before I left, so the Corner was a little neglected.

Fun stuff that happened on my week off:

1. I chaperoned a field trip with my son Ben, 7, to the Van Andel Museum Center. The trip coincided with the kids' studies on Native Americans. The museum volunteers were wonderful. The kids particularly loved the organ-accompanied story telling in the museum's theater. I was amazed how many of the kids had never been to the museum before.

2. I took my 5-year-old, Will, to the Choo-Choo Grill for the first time. He loved his burger and malt, which we ate at the counter. Ben and I went for sushi at Seoul Garden (his suggestion, but this is one of my favorite Asian food places in town).

3. We trimmed the tree. This year, it's a $20 blue spruce Amy picked up from the Fulton Street Farmers Market. We "upgraded" with colorful LED lights on the tree this year.

4. We saw Santa and Mrs. Claus at the Ford Museum. This free event has become an annual tradition for us. There was no wait to see the big guy. We could take pictures ourselves (unlike the mall). The kids enjoyed the carolers, arts and crafts and display of trees. The free cookies and punch were a bonus. Highly recommended.

5. Amy and I went out to breakfast, sans kids -- a rarity, these days. Marie Catrib's food was excellent, as always. The tofu-based KT Breakfast Special I ordered was surprisingly yummy. Our server flubbed our order, which we waited almost an hour to receive, so they gave us the food on the house. Most mornings, this wouldn't have worked. But we weren't in any hurry and they were really apologetic. We also hit The Green Well. The fish and shrimp tacos were worth a return trip.

6. Thanksgiving weekend was a sports extravaganza. We saw the Lions lose on Thanksgiving (I tried to tell the kids the game was more about their chance to see Brett Favre play than watch the Lions). On Saturday, we saw East Grand Rapids win the football state championship at Ford Field. Five overtimes! It was a lot more exciting than the Lions game. On Sunday, my mom and dad took the older boys to the Pistons game.

7.New York Bagel at 12 Mile and Evergreen in Southfield makes the best bagels anywhere. Carb-o-licious.